Manufacture of mouthpiece cigarettes



Jan. 21, 1958 F b. WQMOLINS'; EI'AL MANUFACTURE OF MOUTHPIECE CIGARETTESFiled Nov. 14, 1955 AVVEA/TOZS Unite States Patent MANUFAQTURE orMOUTHPIECE CIGARETTES Desmond Walter Molins, Felix Frederic Ruau, andNorman Walter Jackson, Deptford, London, England, assignors to MolinsMachine Company Limited, London, England, a British company ApplicationNovember 14, 1955, Serial No. 546,642

(Ilaims priority, application Great Britain January 17, 1954 6 Claims.(Cl. 131--61) This invention concerns improvements in or relating tothemanufacture of mouthpiece cigarettes.

In one way of making mouthpiece cigarettes, an unwrapped stream oftobacco is fed forwardly and successive lengths are severed from itsleading end. Each such severed length of tobacco is caused to be'spacedapart lengthwise from the unsevered stream, and a stub is inserted intoeach space so formed. Thus a continuous composite filler is formed,consisting of tobacco lengths and stubs in alternation. The compositefiller is wrapped in a continuous cigarette-paper web to formacontinuous composite rod, which is severed at appropriate positions toform individual mouthpiece cigarettes'each of which contains a tobaccoportion and a mouthpiece portion contained within a common wrapper.Usually the stubs inserted in the spaces are of double the lengthrequired in a cigarette, and are cut in half when the composite rod" issevered.

For convenience, the words tobacco length'or length of tobacco will beused herein' torefer not only to'a length rseparated from a tobaccostream, but also to the leading portion of the uncut stream itself,where the context: permits.

The Word'stub: where used herein is tobe understood 218'." including anyportion (whether of the length required in a finished cigarette ordouble thatlength) of mouthpiece. material that is suitable for.incorporation in a mouthpiece cigarette, andmay consist of a piece offilteringmaterial, or of a hollow tube, or of any. other suitable pieceof. material (including tobacco) that is different from the tobaccocontained in the remainder of the cigarette; or it may consist of anycombination of the foregoing. Well-lrnown examples of stubs are thoseoften known-as filter tips or bunched wads of paper enclosed inawrapper.

Informing a composite rod'as mentioned above, it'is sometimesdiificultto prevent the occurrence-of gaps or sparse portions between the ends ofstubs and the ends of tobacco lengths. It also sometimes happens thatthe tobacco becomes denser at one end of a tobacco length thanatthe-other, with the result that one of the twocigarettes produced fromthat length'isheavier than the other. These two problems are encounteredparticularly in a casewhere the stubs are insertedin spaces betweentobacco lengths that are already lying on the continuous paper web thatis to be Wrapped about the composite filler, because. in that case it isnot always practicable or desirable to move the tobacco lengths bodily,relatively to the paper, in order to close up gaps.

A further problem arises in trying to ensure that the stubs are in thedesired longitudinal positions in'the'composite'r'odthat is (wheredoubledcngth stubs areused, asis-usual), in positions such that theywill bedivided into equal or nearly equal parts" when the rod is cut'toproduce individual cigarettes. that the cigarettes should contain stubsthatare'reason ably consistent in 1 length.

Stubs are often made of folded- This is desirablewin orderv It. is.found,-, however, that a: stubinsertedat a-desired position -onth'epaper web -tends 2,820,463 Patented Jan. 21, 1958 "ice is secured aroundit. To counteract this tendency it hasbeen proposed, for example inBritish Patent No. 669,559}. in U. S. Patent No. 2,622,602, issuedDecember 23, 1952,.- to D. W. Molins; and in U. S. Patent No.2,667,877,.

issued February 2, 1954, to D. W. Molins,.to cause an.

element to move into the path of tobacco lengths and stubs, behind astub, and to move forward faster than the tobacco and stubs and paperweb so as to overtake and push forwardly a stub that is lagging behindits. de'-" It was also proposed to provide afurther sired position;element to advance tobacco behind the-stub, relatively to the paper web,in an endeavour to close up any gap' behind the stub.

In these prior proposals it was contemplated that the stub shouldinitially be deposited on the paper web at the longitudinal position itwas intended to occupy, relative to the paper web, in the composite rod,and should as far as practicable be held in or restored to thatposition.

According to the present invention there is provided, in the manufactureof mouthpiece cigarettes by inserting stubs between tobacco lengths on apaper web and subsequently wrapping and securing the paper around thepression tongue which by its compressing action on the' tobacco causessome of the tobacco to move rearwardly' relatively to the paper web.

The tongue referred to may be of the type generally used on continuousrod cigarette-making machines. A tongue of this type is generallyarranged to slope downwardly over the cigarette paper web and to engagethe upper surface of a tobacco filler passing beneath it, and

thereby compress it laterally, while the folding of the paper web aboutthe tobacco is commencing. There is a tendency for such a tongue toforce tobacco rearwardly, relatively to the paper web, and when such atongue is used in the manufacture of mouthpiece cigarettes in thegeneral manner referred to above, this rearward move ment of the tobaccohas been found to be one of the principal causes of rearward lagging ofstubs. Heretofore, as explained above, stubs have been initiallydcpositecl on the paper web at the longitudinal positions they wereintended to occupy in the composite rod, and

efforts have been made to correct orprevent any rearward displacement ofthe stubs from those positions.

In the method according to the present inventionas set'forth above, astub may be initially deposited on the paper atapo'sition such that theback pressure of tobacco passing beneath the tongue will push the stubback to" substantially the desired longitudinal position it shouldultimately occupy on the paper Web. In other words, allowance is made,when first placing the'stub on the paper, for the back pressure whichthe tobacco immediately preceding the stub will exert on it.

The method may also include engaging tobacco in the leading endportionof a tobacco length immediately following a stub, so as to control thetobacco so engaged and" thereby limit or control the backward movementof thestub relatively to' the paper web; Thismay be acc'ot'nplished bymoving a tobacco-engaging element into'the" path of the. tobacco and.stubs so' as' to engage tobacco" behind a stub and thereafter to moveforwardly, whileengaging, such tobacco; at substantially the speed otliepaper web, and then to Withdraw from said path. In this way the backwardpressure exerted on the stub by the tobacco in front of it can be tosome extent balanced by pressure of the tobacco behind the stub, and itis thought that when the stub is allowed to fioat freely between thetobacco lengths in this way, the pressure of the tobacco immediately infront of it can become more or less equal to the opposing pressure ofthe tobacco immediately following it, and that in consequence thedensity of these two portions of tobacco at opposite ends of the stubcan become substantially the same.

Further according to the invention there is provided in apparatus formanufacturing mouthpiece cigarettes, apparatus for forming a continuouscomposite rod, comprising means to feed lengths of unwrapped tobaccolengthwise on a paper web with spaces between their ends, stubfeedingmeans to feed a stub into one of said spaces in advance of the positionit is to occupy in the rod, means to retard said stub, and means toengage tobacco in the leading end portion of a tobacco lengthimmediately following said stub so as to control the tobacco so engagedand thereby limit or control the retardation of the said stub. Thelast-named means may comprise a tobaccoengaging element arranged to moveinto the path of tobacco and stubs so as to engage tobacco behind a stuband thereafter to move forwardly at substantially the speed of the paperWeb while engaging said tobacco.

The said stub-feeding means may comprise a rotatable member having oneor more pusher elements on its periphery, and means to rotate saidmember at varying speeds such that a stub is pushed by a pusher elementinto a space between two tobacco lengths at a faster forward speed thanthe speed of said lengths, and that immediately thereafter the speed ofrotation is reduced so that the pusher element ceases to push the stubat said faster speed. In this way, it is possible to feed a stub at asuitably fast speed without the necessity of withdrawing the pusherelement, which can therefore be fixed on the rotatable member, forexample a stub-wheel.

The variation of the speed of rotation of the rotatable member may beeffected by means of a toothed driving element which rotates at constantspeed and drives the rotatable member through an intermediate toothedelement, the latter being arranged to be swung bodily to and fro aboutthe axis of the said driving element so as to increase or decrease thespeed of rotation of the said rotatable member. Preferably the saidintermediate toothed member comprises a driving sprocket and a drivengear wheel rotatable therewith. The said driving element comprises adriving gear in mesh with the said driven gear wheel, and the drive iselfected by means of a chain passing around the said sprocket and afurther sprocket on said rotatable member, the said driven gear wheeland driving sprocket being bodily swingable about the axis of thedriving gear wheel. For example the driven gear wheel and drivingsprocket may be mounted in a swinging member arranged to be swung aboutits pivot by a rotatable cam.

A method and apparatus according to the invention will now be describedby way of example with reference to the accompanying drawing, whichshows a side elevation, partly in section, with certain parts brokenaway, of apparatus by which a tobacco stream is fed lengthwise andsevered at intervals, the cut lengths are spaced apart endwise, andstubs are inserted into the spaces between the tobacco lengths.

The apparatus illustrated comprises a tobacco tape 1 arranged to bemoved beneath a hopper (not shown) through a trough 1a at varyingspeeds. A guide tube 2 and a further guide tube 3 are provided toreceive a tobacco stream from the tape 1 and guide it on to a paper web4 carried by a tape 5. Cutting mechanism is provided in order to cut thestream at intervals between the tubes 2 and 3.

The variation of the speed of the tape 1 is effected in any convenientway, preferably by means of the mechanism for this purpose described andshown in the complete specification and drawings of United States patentapplication Serial No. 461,163, file-d October 8, 1954, by N. W.Jackson. The speed variation is such that the speed of the tape isgreatly reduced immediately after each cutting operation so as to allowa space to develop between the cut length, which is fed forwardly by thepaper web, and the leading end of the uncut stream. Thereafter the speedof the tape 1 is increased to a speed such as to enable it to deliverthe uncut filler on to the paper web at substantially the speed of theweb 4, and the uncut filler is thus fed on to the paper web at thatspeed until the next cutting operation.

The cutting mechanism, which is constructed and operated as described inthe provisional specification of United States patent application SerialNo. 470,738, filed November 23, 1954, by N. W. Jackson, comprises arotatable knife carrier 6 in which is clamped a thin, narrow knife blade7 adapted to pass at high speed through the space between the tubes 2and 3 on each revolution of the knife carrier 6.

A stub-wheel 23, arranged above the paper web 4, is mounted for rotationin the direction shown by the arrow. The stub-wheel 23 is formed as adisc having a concave rim as indicated at 25, and provided withpusherelements in the form of three projecting pusher-pins 26. Above thewheel 23 is a stub-feeding device (not shown) comprising a fluted drumby which double-length stubs are intermittently fed down in successionto a position to be engaged by each of the pins 26 in turn. Thestubfeeding device is preferably the one described and shown in thecomplete specification and drawings of United States patent applicationSerial No. 480,403, D. W. Molins et al., filed January 1, 1955. Anarcuate guide 27 is provided to guide stubs and prevent them fromfalling away from the rim of the wheel 23 until they reach a position atwhich they are to be deposited on the paper web 4.

The wheel 23 is driven by a chain 28 passing over a sprocket 29 fixed tothe wheel. The chain 28 is driven by a driving sprocket 30, which hasfixed to it a driven gear wheel 31 which meshes with a driving gear 32fixed on a driving shaft 33 which rotates in the direction indicated bythe arrow. The sprocket 30 and gear 31 are mounted in a bracket 34 whichis freely pivoted about the shaft 33. Also mounted on the bracket 34 isa cam-following roller 35, which is capable of engaging a cam consistingof a rotatable cam 36. A spring 37 fixed on the bracket 34 urges thebracket about its pivot so as to press the cam-follower 35 against therim of the cam 36. It should be noted here that the throw of the cam 36is very small and its shape is very nearly that of a circle, and in thedrawing has the appearance of acircle.

The chain 28 also passes over a guide sprocket 38 mounted on a pivotedarm 39 which is urged about its pivot in a clockwise direction by aspring 39a, so as to cause the chain to be kept tight.

The cam 36 is arranged to cause the bracket 34 to swing slightly to andfro about the shaft 33 three times during each revolution of the wheel23. When the bracket 34 swings clockwise, as viewed in the figure, thesprocket 30, being carried towards the left in the figure, imparts asmall increment to the speed of the chain 28 in excess of that given tothe chain by rotation of the sprocket 30. On the return swing the speedof the chain is correspondingly slightly reduced. These swingingmovements are so timed as to cause the wheel 23 to move at the fasterspeed as a pin 26 is approaching the paper web 4 and pushing a stub intoa space between a cut tobacco length and the uncut tobacco stream.Immediately thereafter the return swing of the bracket 34 causes thewheel 23 to slow down so that the pin 26 moves with a. forward. speedapproximately that of the. paper web.

The driven gear 31. rotates: at. two-thirds. the angular speed of thedriving. gear 32,. and. at twice the angular speed of. the. sprocket. 29and wheel 23. Thusthewheel' element. 40 performs thismovement threetimes. during.

each. revolution of the. stubawheel. 23, and is timed and arranged. toengage tobaccov immediately behind each stub insertedby. the,stub-wheel, and to. move at approximately the. speed of. the: paper web.4 while. so. engaging tobacco. Toengage the, tobacco. it. passes througha slot 46 .ina tongue47,

The apparatus as. a. whole operates, as follows. The tape 1 carries acontinuous stream. of, tobacco. and delivers it through the guide tubes2 and 3 on to the paper web 4. Periodicallythe: speed ofthe tape 1 istemporarily greatly reducedand. just beforeeach such speed reduction theknife 7 is caused to pass between the two guide? tubesrso' as.to cut thestream. The-cut lengthzcontinues to move with the paper web,. while theuncut stream lags behind until the speed of the tape 1 is againincreased: By-thattime a spacehas been developed between the cutlengthandtheleadingend of the" uncut stream. A double-length stub is insertedinto this space by a pusher pin 26 on the stub-wheel 23, which moves atvarying speeds so that the stub is pushed into the space with a fasterforward speed than that of the paper web and the tobacco carriedthereby, and immediately thereafter the wheel slows down slightly sothat the pusher pin moves with a forward speed approximately the same asthe paper speed. As the tobacco and stubs pass beneath the tongue 47 theelement 40 engages the tobacco immediately behind the stub and movesforwardly with it at approximately the speed of the paper web, thuscontrolling the tobacco speed and preventing it from lagging behind thestub or from being pushed backwardly by the stub.

Subsequently the paper web 4 is wrapped and secured about the tobaccoand stubs to form a continuous composite rod, which is cut atappropriate intervals to produce mouthpiece cigarettes.

The cut-off mechanism (not shown) which may be of any suitable kind suchas is used in continuous-rod cigarette-making machinery, is timed to cutthrough each stub and tobacco length in the composite rod, and the stubsand tobacco lengths are of double the length required in a finishedcigarette.

The tongue 47 is similar to a compression tongue as frequently used onordinary continuous rod cigarette-making machines, and as will be seenis of tapering form, and thus compresses the tobacco laterally as thetobacco passes beneath and through it. Due to this progressive lateralcompression the tobacco is, as it passes through the tongue, squeezed orforced rearwardly so that some of it is caused to move rearwardlyrelatively to the paper web 4. Tobacco which is forced backwardly inthis way exerts a backward pressure on the stub that immediately followsit, and forces the stub backwardly relatively to the paper web.

Accordingly the operation of the stub-wheel, and also of the cuttingmechanism and the mechanism for varying the speed of the tape 1, is sotimed in relation to the operation of the cut-01f mechanism that a stubis deposited by a pusher-element 26 on to the paper web 4 ahead of theposition it is intended that it should occuPY longitudinally of thepaper web, in the finished composite rod. A. suitable distance. inadvance of. this.

position has. been. found to be to 2 mm. for a given weight and size ofcigarette. The. purpose of this is to. allow for rearward. movement of.the stub by tobacco which is forced" rearwardly while passing. beneath.the tongue 47.

The extent of' setting discussed above will, ofv course vary with manydifferent conditions, such as moisture, density of. compression, and.length. of tobacco sections, and accordingly each case would need to beadjusted independently to get the result contemplated here.

The distance by which a stub is pushed backward by the tobacco in frontof-v it may also vary with different stubs, but it is found that a stubwill in all cases, if permitted to do so, move back a certain minimumdistance relatively to the paper Web, and the stub is therefore placedon to the paper initially at a position such as to allow for thisminimum rearward movement.

The tobacco-engaging element'40 is arranged to engage tobacco behind astub. with its serrated end 41 and to move forward at the speed of. thepaper Web so as to prevent the tobacco immediately following the stubfrom being forced rearwardly by the tongue. This operation is so timedas. to check the rearward movement of the stub when it has moved.backwardly the minimum distance that has been allowed for. In otherwords, the stub isv thus prevented by the tobacco immediately behind it,from moving back beyond the predetermined longitudinal position it isintended to have relatively to the paper web. Inthis way the-backwardpressure of tobacco preceding'a stub can bemore or less balanced byforward pressure of tobaccobehind the stub, and the density of thetobacco adjacent the opposite ends of the stub can be more or lessequalized. Moreover, since the leading end portion of a tobcaco lengthis prevented from moving backwardly, as just described, while theremainder of that length is free to be forced or squeezed backwardly bythe tongue, each tobacco length as a whole tends to be somewhatelongated, which of course is favourable to good abutment betweentobacco and stubs.

The reason for pushing the stub into the space at a faster forward speedthan that of the paper web is that for satisfactory results the spaceshould be no longer than the stub, and it is thus necessary to push thestub in relatively fast to enable it to enter the space. If the stubwheel rotates with a constant peripheral speed faster than the paper webspeed, the pushers must be retracted in some way immediately afterinsertion of the stubs in order to allow the latter to travel forward atthe speed of the paper. With the present arrangement, however, the stubwheel rotates first at a suitable speed to push a stub into a space, andthen at a reduced speed so that the pusher moves at approximately thesame speed as the paper web. Thus the pushers need not be retractable,and the fixed pusher pins 26 are satisfactory.

It will be appreciated that when a stub is fed into a space between twotobacco lengths at a faster forward speed than the tobacco lengths, andin so doing the stub presses against the rear end of the tobacco lengthpreceding it, that tobacco becomes somewhat compressed lengthwise. Byallowing the tobacco to move rearwardly while passing beneath the tongueit is possible to allow the compressed tobacco to expand lengthwise andso become less dense than it would otherwise be.

It is found that by means of the method described, stubs can be locatedlongitudinally in the composite rod at fairly even intervals andconsequently mouthpiece cigarettes containing stubs of reasonablyuniform length can be produced. Moreover it is possible by this methodto secure good abutment between the stubs and the tobacco lengths, sincethe ends of two successive tobacco lengths both tend to be pressedagainst the ends of the stub be tween them while passing beneath thetongue. Further, by allowing tobacco to push the stub rearwardly to acertain extent, while holding the tobacco behind the stub againstrearward movement, it is possible to obtain a good approach to equalityin the two portions oftobacco which abut the stub.

What we claim as our invention and desire to secure by Letters Patentis:

1. In apparatus for manufacturing mouthpiece cigarettes, apparatus forforming a continuous composite rod, comprising means to feed lengths ofunwrapped tobacco lengthwise on a paper web with spaces between theirends, stub-feeding means to feed a stub into one of said spaces inadvance of the position it is to occupy in the rod, means to retard saidstub, and means to engage tobacco in the leading end portion of atobacco length immediately following said stub so as to control thetobacco so engaged and thereby limit or control the retardation of thesaid stub, said last named means comprising a tobacco-engaging elementarranged to move into the path of tobacco and stubs so as to engagetobacco behind a stub and thereafter to move forwardly at substantiallythe speed of the paper web while engaging said tobacco.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the said stub-feeding meanscomprises a rotatable member having one or more pusher elements on itsperiphery, and means to rotate said member at cylically alternatingperipheral speeds which are respectively greater than, and substantiallythe same as, the speed of the paper web, whereby a stub is pushed by apusher element into a space between two tobacco lengths at a fasterforward speed than the speed of said lengths, and immediately thereafterthe speed of rotation is reduced so that the pusher element ceases topush the stub at said faster speed.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the means to rotate the saidrotatable member comprises a toothed driving element which rotates atconstant speed, an intermediate toothed element through which thedriving element drives the. rotatable member, the intermediate toothedelement, being arranged to be swung bodily to and fro about the axis ofthe said driving element so as to increase or decrease the speed ofrotation of the said rotatable member.

4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein said intermediate toothedelement comprises a driving sprocket wheel and a driven gear wheelrotatable therewith.

5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein the said driving elementcomprises a driving gear in mesh with the said driven gear wheel, afurther sprocket on said rotatable member, and a chain passing aroundthe said sprocket and said further sprocket to effect the drive, thesaid driven gear wheel and driving sprocket being bodily swingable aboutthe axis of the driving gear wheel.

6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 5, comprising a swinging member inwhich the driven gear wheel and driving sprocket are mounted, and arotatable cam to swing said swinging member about its pivot.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,622,602 Molins Dec. 23, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 669,559 Great BritainApr. 2, 1952 703,991 Great Britain Feb. 17. 1954

